THIRD PERSON POV.

Dante's fists slammed repeatedly against the punching bag, his rage increasing with each strike. He could not get over the audacity of that new girl questioning his authority and humiliating him in front of the entire school, something that had never happened in his entire life. With every hit, his anger grew stronger as he silently plotted ways to make her pay dearly for it.

"Still thinking about that girl?" Collin teased, a smirk playing on his lips while casually resting his hands on the breasts of a girl neither of his brothers had seen before. But Dante and Kris paid her no attention. It was a regular sight seeing Collin, the youngest of the triplets, with a different girl almost every day.

Dante stopped the swinging punching bag, violently yanked off his gloves, and threw them across the room.

"She really got to you, huh, bro?" Collin chuckled. "I have never seen you this worked up over a girl before."

Dante glared at his brother, clearly not amused. He collapsed into a nearby chair and muttered under his breath, "That stupid bitch."

Collin leaned forward, watching as Dante repeatedly ran his hands through his hair. "So what are you going to do about this girl?" he asked with a smug grin. "She made a fool out of you in front of the entire school. What's stopping her from doing it again? I think you should teach her a lesson. One she would never forget."

Kris, who had been silently scrolling through his phone, finally decided to speak. "Or maybe you should let it slide. After all, if you had not made that ridiculous request, none of this would have happened," he pointed out calmly.

Dante scoffed. "Please, don't start with one of your lectures. I'm not in the mood for that. Besides, you wouldn't understand. Asserting dominance is much better than trying to play nice."

"If that's completely true, then why didn't it work on that girl?" Kris asked matter-of-factly.

"Because humans are stubborn and brainless. Eventually, I'll teach that weak creature her place. Trust me."

Kris merely shook his head, not interested in arguing further.

Just then, the door burst wide open. Standing there was Ava, clutching a crumpled piece of paper in her hand while breathing heavily as though she had run all the way there. Without sparing anyone else in the room a glance, she marched straight toward Dante and threw the paper at him.

"Do I look like a joke to you?" she yelled, jabbing a finger against his hard chest, her face red with rage. "Just because you're the Alpha's son does not give you the right to treat me like this. I refuse to quit!"

Dante's confusion slowly shifted into irritation. "What the hell are you talking about? Last time I checked, you were the one who injured my nose, and now you have the audacity to storm into my private gym and start talking nonsense?"

Ava crossed her arms, her voice calmer now. "It's a shame your nose healed so nicely. I liked it better when it was disfigured. It suited your personality."

Her comment earned a few suppressed laughs from the others in the room, though they quickly disguised them as coughs the moment Dante shot them a warning glare.

"If you think you're going to expel me because of some stupid misunderstanding, then you must be joking. I'm not leaving after my mother spent so much money on my tuition," Ava added firmly.

"What are you talking about, weakling?" Dante narrowed his eyes at her.

Before she could answer, Collin interrupted. "Seeing as you embarrassed Dante in front of the whole school, I thought it would be better if you got expelled before you corrupted anyone else's mind." He grinned before adding, "Just following my teacher's example."

Ava's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wow. So not only are you bullies, but you're cowards too?" she scoffed. "What's wrong? Are you scared I'm going to destroy your little empire?"

"I'm not a coward," Dante snapped immediately, unwilling to let his image take another hit. "And what makes you think I'm going to let you off without proper punishment?" he asked, leaning forward until he was inches away from her face.

"I may not be as powerful as you people, but one thing I will never tolerate is allowing some spoiled rich boys to treat me like I'm nothing!"

Dante burst into laughter as though she had just told the funniest joke imaginable.

"We can't treat you like nothing. You want to know why?" He paused, his tone dropping into something colder and far more wicked. "Because to us, you already are nothing."

Ava bit down on her lip, holding back the anger threatening to explode inside her. "I guess you need more than a nosebleed to knock some sense into you."

"What I need, sweetheart, is someone to remind the entire school what happens when you end up in the Golden Boys' bad books."

"Golden Boys? That has got to be the lamest name I've ever heard," Ava scoffed before turning to leave.

"See you at school tomorrow, Navy," Dante called after her mockingly.

The second she disappeared from the room, Kris spoke up. "I like her."

"I agree," Collin nodded approvingly. "It's rare seeing someone stand up to Dante, especially someone of her rank. I find it admirable."

"I wouldn't call it admirable," Dante muttered, clenching his fists tightly. "There's nothing admirable about stupidity."

"What are you going to do to her?" Collin asked almost too eagerly. But that was not surprising. He had always enjoyed drama far too much.

Dante fell silent for a moment, staring blankly ahead before finally speaking in a low, husky tone.

"Exactly what we've always done to people who forget their place."

"You wouldn't go that far," Kris warned cautiously.

Dante's expression darkened.

"She asked for it."